Video 6:39
Brutal murder in South Africa

Police officers in South Africa have been charged with murder after the brutal killing of a taxi driver was filmed by onlookers.

Transcript

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: The murder case against Paralympian Oscar Pistorius shocked the world and shone a spotlight on endemic violence in South Africa.

Two decades after the end of Apartheid, it remains a brutal place, and there's growing dismay at the failure of police to combat violent crime.

In fact brutality by the police is a rising problem, highlighted by a string of vicious incidents filmed by bystanders.

Now vigilante squads are taking the law into their own hands.

Africa correspondent Ginny Stein has this report, and a warning: it contains some distressing scenes and strong language.

GINNY STEIN, REPORTER: South Africa's crime rate may be dropping, but not here on the Cape Flats. In a country with one of the world's highest gaps between rich and poor, many here see crime as their only viable career choice.

WOMAN: It's tough.

GINNY STEIN: Why?

WOMAN: Because (inaudible) don't get work or school - everything. Don't get work.

GINNY STEIN: The Cape Flats just outside scenic Cape Town is South Africa's gang capital. In the suburb of Delft, the Neighbourhood Watch team is getting ready for a busy night.

AMIEN FAKIER, DELFT NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH: Everybody, (inaudible) the streets, on the corner, we're gonna do the tuckshops and then we're gonna do (inaudible).

GINNY STEIN: Here, the Neighbourhood Watch patrol does more than just keep watch. They stop and search people and enforce curfews on local businesses.

Not everyone is happy.

But these Neighbourhood Watch patrols which operate with police support and others less legitimate stand accused of taking the law into their own hands through mob justice.

The Delft Taxi Drivers Association are the go-to guys in a community that has given up on the law. This man chose the wrong spot to try and sell shoes suspected of being stolen. A passing policeman is asked to leave. He does.

After an hour in the Taxi Association's own cell, a confession is obtained and punishment decided. He is to be whipped.

This man's sister is called to come and approve and witness his punishment.

At the last moment, he is given a reprieve.

TAXI DRIVER (subtitle translation): This beating thing depends on what the person has done. People who have committed a murder, or someone who is resisting us. A person who has stolen, just like this one, he knows that taxi men are harsh people so we just scare them by the threat of a beating and then they tell the truth.

GINNY STEIN: Police are publicly critical of street justice, but in communities like this one, they're willing to turn a blind eye when local justice is being meted out. At the same time, it's the failure of police that's led to a rise in vigilantism as local communities have lost faith in those who are meant to protect.

That mistrust has been fuelled by recent cases of abuse by police. Eight colleagues were charged with murdering a taxi driver last month. Filmed by onlookers, the driver was bashed by police then dragged handcuffed behind a police wagon. He died a few hours later in custody.

PHUMEZA MLUNGWANA, GENERAL SECRETARY, SOCIAL JUSTICE COALITION: They're not supposed to beat up people. They're not supposed to rape people. They're not supposed to rob people. You know? All those things. And it kind of diminishes the credibility or the hope that police can one day provide safety in their communities.

GINNY STEIN: This is not the only case of police brutality to shock the nation, just the most recent. Last year, protestor Andries Tatane collapsed and died in front of the camera after being shot by police. Eight officers were charged with his murder, but they were acquitted as no-one was willing or able to identify those involved.

PHUMEZA MLUNGWANA: The fact that people get to a point where they feel they need to take the law into their own hands, well obviously people don't just wake up one day and think, "This is what we're gonna do." They face the everyday challenges of crime and violence. They face the failure of the criminal justice - the police.

GINNY STEIN: The social justice network has been collecting complaints against police in the Cape Flats. But a promised government inquiry into policing and vigilantism has been blocked after police took legal action. Communities are crying out for help, but it's not the police they trust to turn to.